Rate the last TV series you watched (full seasons only)

The Bear S3 - 7/10

Disappointed me a little, but largely due to the high standards set in S2 in particular. Some great cameos as always, but it was lacking the magic of the self-contained episodes we've seen previously, with only Napkins coming close, and Ice Chips being a big swing and a miss in my eyes. Episode 1 was a manic way to do a recap - definitely wish I'd rewatched the final episode of S2 first. Overall it felt like a literal appetiser for S4, which to the show's credit can't come soon enough.

Agreed though it's an overall 8/10 for me (where previous series were 10/10).  Thought the first episode was outstanding and the last episode very good too, but rest of the series was below the usual standard.

It's still excellent TV but it all felt a little thin compared to previous series.  As if they know what people like about the Bear and made sure they had plenty of snappy lines, shouting, arty food shots and extremely specific chef chat, but didn't have the character arcs planned properly.  There wasn't a great deal of character development this time around (I actually quite liked Ice Chips for this reason).  The Faks are hilarious, but they also felt overused as a relatively one note replacement for actual narrative.  Felt like whenever the writers needed a bridge between scenes, in come the Faks for some more idiocy.

Apparently S4 was green lit before S3 was started so I do wonder if we've basically seen half a season of ideas stretched out.  Wonder if they need more writers or more time to regain that previous quality. 

Worst take of the show I've seen.

Infinitely better music than the maudlin S1 intro. The photographs with missing people are a massive step up too. I love it it, great juxtaposition with the tone of the show.

Hah, fair play.

I love the pictures - they're so 'normal'. It really drove home how what happened affected regular people, families and communities so much. It honestly makes me tear up a little each time I see it.

It'll be interesting to see what you think of the S3 intro!

The Bear S3 6/10

So much of it was just boring. The birth episode was terrible, the last episode was poor. The one of the woman getting the job went nowhere. I loved the first two seasons but this just wasn't good at all.

Still, the person choosing the music seems to have access to my music library.

This is where I've landed with it. It's either disappeared up its own arse or, more charitably and as others have mentioned, it's stalling the actual story to make some more money. The standalone episodes were particularly bad after the really great ones last time. Agree with the comments about zero character development above, too.

Chalking that one up as a big disappointment. Shot as beautifully as ever though.

The Leftovers S3 - 9/10 (9/10 overall for the show too)

Well that was bloody good! It had the same issue as the previous season with one of the episodes just being a massive load of bollocks IMO, but it didn't drag the rest of it down.
It wraps most of the character arcs up pretty well by the penultimate episode, then gives you a lengthy final episode to just focus on the two main characters. From the start it always seems to open up new questions for everything it answers, and even up to the end left a lot open to interpretation. That might annoy some, but I absolutely loved it.

Cracking performances all around. Ecclestone especially feels like he finally got a chance to shine in S3. Coon and Theroux are just perfect at playing broken people barely holding on.

The Virtues - All4 - 10/10

Shane Meadows series from 5 years back starring Stephen Graham as an estranged father with... issues, to put it mildly.

The final episode is astonishing in particular. Yeesh.

Shane Meadows is absolutely god-tier in everything he does. This is easily equal with his best.

Yeah it took me a couple of months to get through 4 episodes ha. Not exactly post-work decompression viewing.

For shame I've still never seen TIE. Next on my (long watch) list.

Also... Obviously Stephen Graham acts his socks off in Virtues, but the supporting cast is absolutely amazing. And I don't just mean the immediate supporting cast - some really major characters appear very late in the show, played by complete unknowns, and they are incredible.

In for a proper treat. And it's not all wall to wall bleakness, there's lots of levity and humour in there. The whole cast are just sensational.

I enjoyed it but it did seem a bold choice to include no content from the multi-award winning source novel and have amateurs improvise a prequel instead

On a similar theme…

The Boys S4 (Vought+ / Amazon)

Actually quite a reserved series and a departure from the… nah just kidding it’s the same puerile gory nonsense as ever.

It’s got to be the easiest show in the world to write for. They don’t even try to satirise current events, as just about everything is copy pasted from the real world into the series with very little augmentation.

I’d be lying if it didn’t make me laugh on more than a few occasions, but the law of diminishing returns is starting to bite. Remember when Mortal Kombat 3 came out and it had very little of MK2’s charm because just about every fatality ended with the same animated giblets bouncing around the screen? This reminds me a bit of that - you’re shocked the first time someone gets ripped in half but by the fourth or fifth time it’s almost become expected. And as with Invincible, episodes are starting to feel really long.

But this season does give off big penultimate vibes, so we’re going into the final lap - which does at least make it feel consequential.

7/10